1. Field
The present invention relates to a light scanning apparatus and a light scanning microscope using the same. The present invention further relates to an observation method utilizing the light scanning microscope, a controlling apparatus, and a controlling program.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order to improve imaging speed of a laser scanning confocal microscope, the use of a resonant galvanometer scanner has been conventionally proposed (see a patent document 1 and so on). Since the resonant galvanometer scanner oscillates a scan mirror with a resonant frequency of an oscillating system, its oscillation frequency can be ten times as high as that of a controllable galvanometer scanner.
However, in the resonant galvanometer scanner, the scan mirror is rotated with a natural resonant frequency by a sinusoidal wave and the center of the rotation, and the speed of the rotation, which can be changed in the controllable galvanometer scanner, cannot be feely changed.
Under such circumstances, a light scanning apparatus including both a resonant galvanometer scanner and a controllable galvanometer scanner was proposed (see a non-patent document 1, a patent document 2, and so on).
In the non-patent document 1, the resonant galvanometer scanner and the controllable galvanometer scanner are disposed so as to be alternatively selectable. Therefore, when high speed imaging is required, the former is disposed in a light path, and when a scanning area needs to be set, the latter is disposed in the light path.
In the patent document 2, since an oscillating system of the resonant galvanometer scanner is incorporated in an oscillating system of the controllable galvanometer scanner, the same scan mirror can be oscillated in both the resonant oscillating system and the controllable oscillating system. Therefore, when high speed imaging is required, the resonant oscillating system is driven, and when a scanning area needs to be set, the controllable oscillating system has only to be driven.
Patent document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. H6-201999
Patent document 2: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-17642
Non-patent document 1: Leica Microsystems catalog “Tandem Scanner TCS SP5”, Order no: 1593102108, August 2005, Leica Microsystems
However, in the non-patent document 1, the scanner switching takes time due to the need for moving the scanners. On the other hand, in the patent document 2, the scanners do not have to be moved, but in the oscillating system of the resonant galvanometer scanner, it takes time before an oscillation state is stabilized after the start of the driving, and it also takes time before the oscillation ceases after the stop of the driving, and therefore, the observation can be actually started with an about several second time lag after the scanner switching.